Rob Waugh lives in Edinburgh with his wife and two boys (11 and 9), where he’s juggling family life with a career that’s far broader than “filmmaker” suggests.
One week he’s running productions through his company, Simmerdim. The next he’s halfway around the world behind a camera, filming everything from elite sport to remote expeditions.
Before that, Rob spent years project-managing rural water projects across East Africa. More recently, life came full circle when he was awarded an explorer grant by the Scientific Exploration Society to film a documentary in Uganda about the disappearing glaciers of the Rwenzori Mountains.
I watched a beautiful short film Rob made about his son’s first Munro at Kendal Mountain Festival last year and it captured everything I love about getting kids outdoors, so he felt like the perfect person to kick off this new series.
What does an average weekend look like in your house?
Well, this entirely depends on the time of year.
Pretty much from August to March, it's rugby season so both Saturday and Sunday mornings are spent either spectating, or on pitch coaching my son's mini rugby. Adventures happen in school holidays mainly.
Other times of the year, weekends tend to involve a more active Saturday, usually just a long ramble in the local countryside with the dog. Living in the city isn't great for outdoor adventures but Edinburgh manages to serve up some hidden gems close at hand, where the kids can build dens, play outlaws, get their feet in the sea, all within a few miles of the house.
I'd love to say that every Friday evening we're heading straight up the road to scale peaks or paddle streams in the highlands, but that'd be a lie. The aim is to certainly try and fit that in a few times a year.
But importantly, every year in May half term, for five days me and the boys disappear off on a camping adventure, leaving Mum at home. It's the one sacrosanct thing in the calendar. There are other ad hoc bits here and there but having that one annual trip ensures we never skip time together outdoors.
We perhaps feel under pressure from social media to be undertaking epic weekly adventures with the kids, but thinking back to my own childhood the core memories that were formative were actually generated during relatively small periods of time. So even a few days a year, or a few hours a weekend, will still be definitive in their minds.
What’s your favourite local adventure?
If we've got a couple of hours, then Lauriston Farm near Crammond in Edinburgh is the go to. Huge fields with amazing views over Crammond Island and the Forth where the dog can run wild, but leading all the way down through woods to the beach, then up the river to the weir. You could get a 10km walk in without ever meeting a road, all whilst still inside the city bypass.
Given a bit more time, Yellowcraigs Beach in East Lothian is the one. The beach itself is amazing and Fidra Island just off the coast was (reputedly) the inspiration for Treasure Island, but you also have a vast woodland and scrubby flat grassland abutting it.
But for proper adventure holidays, still within a few hours of home, we'll never get tired of the Isle of Mull. It has literally everything the adventurous soul could wish for. I even made a short film about it, Many Small Steps, which seemed to resonate with festival audiences around the world.
Show us your adventure setup..
Currently, it lives in a big heap in the eaves of our house. We moved home 2 years ago and have been slowly renovating, but the last bit to get sorted will be the eaves and as such, there is no shelving in there, so everything just lives in a big heap of duffel bags.
This brought me a lot of comfort for some reason.
Rob’s Gear Locker
Every adventure parent has certain kit that’s earned permanent status in the cupboard. These are Rob’s:
Metal Mug (.58 Pattern)
No need for a separate kettle, just stick the mug in the embers and brew up.
Opinel Knife & Steel
I've carried the same Opinel and steel in a wee leather pouch for years. Ray Mears said something about always having the means to make fire on your person. I just use it to light the gas stove mainly.
Cake cooling rack
Buy one for a few quid and you can slot it down the inside of your rucksack, then lay it across a couple of rocks over a fire and cook on it.
Buffalo Systems Shirt
My special six shirt has been going strong for 24 years and is just bombproof.
Tarp
Nothing fancy, but a standard camping tarp is small, light, fits in the bag but in two mins can give you a modest house to keep kids dry and happy when the rain comes.
Keela - Solo Jacket
A local Scottish company who produces the very highest quality kit. Their solo jacket was the best thing I took with me to high altitude, but is also brilliant for walking the dog in winter.
Germany Army Sleeping Mat
Basic it may be and you won't be enjoying the comfort of an inflatable mat, but this is great for shoving in a rusksack and pulling out, in conjunction with the tarp, if the kids need a dry seat or you need a solid surface for setting out a picnic.
Mess Tins
If it ain't broke, don't fix it. The design of these have basically remained unchanged for 80 years and for good reason.
Jetboil
There are times when they are cold and grumpy. That's when you bang the tarp up, lay out the german mat and fire up the Jetboil. Hot choc in 2 min.
Vango Tent
I've never owned any other make of tent and why would I? My first night camping as a kid was in a Force 10 and I now have a Banshee and an Omega. Threaten them with the wildest of conditions and they just shrug.
What’s your secret weapon?
Post adventure ice cream is usually the one. Even now, part of the fun of doing something challenging is when you no longer have to do it and marking that occasion with an ice cream makes it all the sweeter.
When my dad would take me up Munros as a kid, the standard incentive was a whole box of Mr Kipling cakes each. Cherry Bakewells are elite but can disintegrate, so country slices tend to be my calorie source of choice.
What’s one adventure your family still talks about?
There have been so many for multiple reasons but I think a camping trip to lives strong in the core memories. We had four days of amazing weather, a campsite beside one of the most amazing beaches you could wish for. The boys ran feral, clambering along rocky outcrops, playing in the sea, taking sunset walks at 1030pm on the beach. All this and you get to enjoy a 90min CalMac sailing each way round the Isle of Mull.
What’s the most valuable thing the outdoors has taught you about being a dad
That you can't expect kids to follow in your footsteps, but they'll see the natural world through their own lens and find their own joy and wonder in it. Think of the outdoors as a library, everyone has their own genre of taste, but the environment is enriching either way.
If your kids could describe you as a dad in one sentence, what would you hope they’d say?
That I was the best person to have around if a situation turned serious, but that I never took anything too seriously.
(they probably just say I'm funny, strong and make them pancakes, but i'll take that too)
Quick Fire Round
🏕️ Favourite campsite // Fidden Farm, Isle of Mull
🍴Campfire meal // A very chunky chilli if feeding a few, but can't go wrong with pancakes stacked with banana and honey either.
📖 Favourite kids’ book // Wind in the Willows - specifically Chapters 4 & 5 - the description of British countryside in late autumn/early winter, Mr Badgers house and then finding Mole's old home and hosting the carol singers is just absolute perfection.
🍪 Biscuit of choice // Ginger Nuts
☕ Coffee set up // A very battered Italian style espresso pot. Works equally well on the hob, camping stove or shoved in the embers of a fire.
People get really fussy about coffee, especially in Edinburgh, but once a mate and I were up near Mt Elgon and bought some "roast" (burnt) coffee beans from a local farmer. He pummelled them up in a wooden pestle and mortar and later on, in a bush camp, we boiled it up in my metal mug over the campfire, skimmed the coffee shrapnel off the top and drank it. Probably still the best coffee I've ever tasted. Context matters sometimes.
Rob Waugh